Log in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Lost Password Recovery Form

If you have forgotten your username or password, you can request to have your username emailed to you and to reset your password. When you fill in your registered email address, you will be sent instructions on how to reset your password.

stolen art

picaso said "bad artists copy, great artist steal". my question is what is the difference and how do u tell? i mean a copy is a copy plain and simple but how do u steal art? unless he means it literaly....

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal." It's referring to taking bits and pieces of a predecessor or contemporaries work and molding to fit your voice in your own work, without imitating. It sometimes can be a thin line for many artist because they don't know how to step beyond their inspiration's footprint, but lot's of the greats pull it off quite well. take any artist you like and look at there influences and see if they have "borrowed" or "stolen". Somethimes that can be a thin line, but the important thing to remember is if you are still staying true to your voice.
If you look like a knock off of James Jean, a great, for example, you become good at doing James Jean. This handicaps you for many reasons: a) you haven't done all your research and don't know how he got to where he is, b) you'll always be one step behind him, and most importantly c) your silencing your own voice, and your borrowing. Whatever you take goes back to James Jean, leaving you with nothing of your own. BUT, if you do your research and discover one of James Jean's influences is Arthur Rackhum for instance, you can see in a sense how he got to where he is, what he carried over from his predecessor, and how he made it his own. Then you might discover something you like that got lost in translation, or better yet you might look at Rackhum's influences and be taken into a different direction. Of course I'm sure he (Jean) has many other influences, but this is an example.
Just remember to nurture your work with the history of art, and let it grow into it's own. Good luck!

The way I see to "steal" is to reverse engineer the work and find out what works and what doesn't. If you copy Van Gogh, for example, yeah sure you'll look like Van Gogh (like what Visions said about Jean). But look closer at his work: what makes Van Gogh stand out? Look at his drawings, he is mad good in using textures to explain a tree or the sky or a field. Now you go outside and you try his technique. Maybe you don't like his curvy style so you put your own spin on it, go a little more rectilinear or something. Anyway, "stealing" is like copying, but you're using your head at the same time.

I think you are awesome, and I wish you the best in your endeavors, but I am tired of repeating myself, I am very busy with my new baby, and I am no longer a regular participant here, so please do not contact me to ask for advice on your career or education. All of the advice that I have to offer can already be found in the following links. Thank you.

steal as in "learn from others".. not just copy them...as Mr. Visions explained it.

----------ScannerDark----------:The lights on but nobody's home::Ink Sketchbook::MySpace:
"See... I can get you what you want, I can. I can get you anything, you just have to talk to me, you have to trust me. You can trust me, 'cause I'm your priest, I'm your shrink... I am your main connection to the switchboard of the soul. I'm the magic man... Santa Claus of the subconscious. You say it, you think it, you can have it."